Posts Tagged ‘books’
7 Crucial Reads for Entertainment Event Professionals
Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011
I’ve been planning and producing events for ten years, most of which has been in the entertainment sector. While there is absolutely no substitute for experience, I still find it important to round out my knowledge of corporate event entertainment and employee team building activities by reading whatever I can get my hands on. Below are seven must-reads for event professionals who create entertainment events, be they concerts, performance art, stand-up comedy, scavenger hunts or (you guessed it) live trivia parties:
1) Entertainment Industry Economics (Harold L. Vogel) – When I was in graduate school studying music & entertainment industry management, this was the book which we were assured was on the shelf of every executive from Hollywood to Broadway. A comprehensive economic overview of each industry sector, this book provides a broad foundation of the market forces at play in creating entertainment events. It also has a significant portion devoted to the nature of leisure time, which I find to be very intriguing and useful.
2) This Business of Artist Management (Xavier M. Frascogna, Jr. & H. Lee Hetherington) – Part of the acclaimed BillboardBooks imprint, this is an essential guide to all aspects of working both around and directly with event talent, from contracts and “green M & M” type stuff to reputation management.
3) Guerrilla Publicity (Jay Conrad Levinson, Rick Fishman & Jill Lubin) – A terrific resource for event professionals with limited PR experience or know-how, this extremely easy to follow book provides a comprehensive overview of how to get free publicity and exposure for your events in a variety of traditional media.
4) Concert Tour Production Management (John Vasey) – Even though this is a book specific to the concert industry, I often find myself referring to it because it’s such a simple and easy-to-use guide to event production, from tech stuff to dealing with unions to terminology.
5) The Power of a Positive No (William Ury) – From the co-author of the landmark negotiation book Getting to Yes, learn how to practice one of the most useful skills an entertainment industry professional can master: how to say no in a constructive, useful and productive way.
6) How to Work a Room (Susan RoAne) – The bestselling book by “mingling maven” RoAne remains popular for a reason: within its pages lie the secrets to how to socialize professionally, effectively and respectfully. An absolute must for those seeking to meet the right people when the opportunity rises.
7) Confessions of a Public Speaker (Scott Berkun) – Being the entertainment event organizer often means having to speak in public, be it for orientation/closing remarks, talent introduction or providing the “voice of god” announcements over the house PA system. This newer book provides a fresh and realistic approach to public speaking, covering everything from anxiety to attire.
Are you an industry professional with other book recommendations? We’d love to hear your suggestions, please feel free to leave some in the comments section below!
Experience Trumps Content Any Day
Monday, May 23rd, 2011
It’s the mantra of the entertainment industry: “Content is King.” Whether talking about movies, television shows, Broadway musicals, video games or books, the guiding principle has always been that compelling content is what will drive interest and, ultimately, sales. You could have the slickest marketing campaign, the coolest packaging or the most credible spokesperson, but it won’t matter a lick if your product stinks; marketing guru Keith Ferrazzi acknowledges this in his landmark book Never Eat Alone, describing a scene in the movie “Big” where Tom Hanks, a boy in a man’s body, completely negates the impressive charts, graphs and data a company puts out about a new toy by declaring that it just plain isn’t “fun.”
In my little slice of the entertainment industry, I produce live trivia parties. Going on the above principle, therefore, I should be focusing my attention squarely on my product, trivia, making sure that the questions are as solid and compelling as possible. A pretty Website, creative logo, even a fancy blog- all nice, but it’s just a package to enhance my product, which is smart, clever and fun trivia questions…right?
Actually, I don’t think so. Yes, of course my trivia questions are important, but I say that it’s not the content that ultimately matters most in entertainment – especially live entertainment – as does the overall user experience. In my case, it’s simply not just all about the trivia; quizmasters are not in the business of writing the most fascinating trivia ever, in order to satisfy a market of die-hard trivia lovers. My job as an entertainment content provider is to do just that- provide entertainment. People want great trivia, but more importantly they want a great experience – a group event which is extraordinary, fun, memorable and impactful.
For experience creators and live event hosts, an excellent product means not only great content, but also strong skills in public speaking, audience engagement, comedic timing and overall event planning. I believe also that this theory extends well into other areas of the entertainment industry. In his book Performing Rites, for example, pop music critic Simon Frith talk about the 3 different variables in play when a piece is performed: the original composed work, the artist performing the work, and the actual performance itself. Whereas the original work may be considered the “content,” it’s not the only thing an audience will remember; the voice of the artist, how well it was performed, the sound quality of the venue and a host of other factors come into play, none of which have anything to do with a bunch of notes and lyrics written on a piece of paper.
Content is clearly an important factor in producing live entertainment. However, I believe that the overall experience of the audience matters most when evaluating an event’s success- thus requiring the producer to ensure that all of the other variables in play are correctly lined up, to deliver a memorable, impactful product.
Content or experience – which do you think is more important?
Trivia Questions Which Will Get You Fired
Monday, May 16th, 2011
One of the most useful books I’ve read in recent years is Send: Why People Email so Badly and How to Do It Better by David Shipley & Will Schwalbe, which I referenced in a previous post on recommended reading. Within these pages, the authors have devoted an entire chapter to cautionary tales of Email abuse, calling it “The Email That Can Land You in Jail.” I doubt that asking the wrong question at a trivia event will get you thrown into a prison cell, but there are absolutely trivia questions which, if asked, will put your job as a trivia host in jeopardy, be it for private corporate events or pub quiz nights.
For starters, steer clear of anything which is blatantly inappropriate or offensive. As with writing an email at work, there are some things which you are better off not mentioning: questions which may be construed as derogatory, racist, sexist, homophobic or prejudiced against religious or ethnic groups come quickly to mind. Think this is impossible in today’s politically correct world? It’s not. You can still ask clever, entertaining questions about groups of people, but just be smart about it.
Another easy way to avoid trouble when hosting live trivia parties is to refrain from using profanity in your questions. This may work at comedy clubs, where people expect there to be a level of “adult language;” however, the same doesn’t fly for trivia events, where there is a reasonable expectation of smart, highbrow entertainment. Questions should never contain crude or crass elements, and never, ever include swears (this isn’t to say that if the audience is comfortable swearing – as they often are when the participants are bankers, lawyers or other naturally competitive folk – that the host can’t join in, a LITTLE bit. But save this type of good-natured bonding humor for your banter in between questions, rather than using 4-letter words in the trivia itself).
When hosting trivia for corporate events, make sure you do your homework on the client, and don’t ask any questions which inadvertently disparage the brand. This is especially important when the client is a large corporate entity representing multiple brands; if you think the client only produces a soft drink, and you innocently make fun of the snack food which they also produce, you may have just joked your way out of your next gig.
Finally, don’t insult or embarrass your client. When customizing corporate team building or employee entertainment parties, you will become privy to company information which may be sensitive. Be smart about which questions you ask regarding the company or its employees, and don’t ask anything which the event participants – even just one – might find humiliating. This is a surefire way to guarantee they will never hire you again, so be extra vigilant when creating customized trivia questions using proprietary information.
Trivia parties are supposed to be fun and challenging, but as the producer, you have a responsibility to ensure that the questions are appropriate, and in good taste. What other elements should be taken into account when writing questions, to ensure your event meets the professional standards the audience expects?
In Defense of Fun in the Workplace
Thursday, May 12th, 2011
When my father-in-law met my younger brother for the first time, he asked him what he did professionally. My brother, in between jobs at the time, replied – half-jokingly – “I have fun.”
If only life could be so simple, right? Imagine, going into work every day, and having that be your description of work: it’s FUN! But no, this is not the way of the world. Someone else once told me years ago, after listening to me complain about my first entry-level job, that if work were supposed to be fun, it would be called “fun,” not “work.” That stuck with me- but not in the way it’s fatalistic benefactor had intended.
So is that it, then? Living by the sweat of one’s brow in the hopes of someday being happy, AFTER work is over? Really? As Samuel L. Jackson said in Pulp Fiction: “Well, allow me to retort!”
Even before I worked in corporate event entertainment – heck, before I started working, period – I recognized the value of injecting fun into the workplace. I remember going into offices as a kid with my parents, and thinking: “man, this looks so BORING!” And you know what? It was. This didn’t change when I was doing office temp work in high school, or working at the store over breaks in college, and certainly didn’t abate once I entered the workforce proper after graduating. Why, I’d wonder, can’t work also be fun?
Think about it: if employees are having fun – not necessarily in their work duties (though this doesn’t hurt), but at least in their interactions with each other – won’t they be happier? Won’t they be more productive? Won’t they feel a stronger sense of attachment and commitment to their jobs, resulting in increased output and more pride in their results? Doesn’t a happy workforce naturally lend itself to boosting morale, creating a better work environment and thus better performance?
The authors of FISH! recognized this in their extremely popular book on workplace productivity, gleaned from hours observing workers at Seattle’s “World Famous” Pike Place Fish Market. If you’ve been there, it’s an amazing sight: big, burly fisherman, working with ice-cold seafood and dripping with rancid fish guts, are happily singing, cheering, and tossing fish into the air at each other. Why? Because otherwise, their jobs would be HORRIBLE, that’s why! Yet, there they are: excited, enthused, demonstrating teamwork and pride in their jobs. After watching for only a minute, one can’t help but feel a pang of jealously, thinking: “I wish I could work here…”
I think you CAN work there- not literally of course, but you can certainly inject fun into your workplace. Sure, work is serious: we need to be professional, productive and respectful of company time, money and reputation. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have FUN while we do it.
Please share your thoughts on this. If you are a business owner, HR professional or manager, please let us know: what’s keeping you from making your workplace fun?
How to Specialize Without Being Pigeonholed
Monday, April 25th, 2011
I recently returned from my honeymoon, during which time I had the chance to do some relaxed reading- however, instead of my usual diet of books about social media, collaboration & business development, I was able to enjoy some fiction, as well as other lighter stuff.
One of the books I got to was Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock, the new autobiography by former Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar. Even though this was perhaps as far a diversion as I’ve allowed myself in a long time, like most entrepreneurs I can’t really shut off my mind when on vacation, and therefore found myself gleaning business lessons from this rock star.
I found myself quickly intrigued by Hagar- not just for partying and political feuds with Eddie Van Halen, but by his passions. The guy is a big-time musician, for sure, yet he also has several successful entrepreneurial ventures under his belt- namely his famous Cabo Wabo brand of tequila, and a cantina chain of the same name. I was stunned to learn that with the music business being what it is today, Sammy goes so far as to say he can only afford to live his passion for making music by ensuring the success of his other businesses.
I instantly saw a parallel with myself within the events world, as both a planner and a supplier. Specializing in a certain area – be it corporate event entertainment, party planning, employee team building or live trivia – means defining yourself as such. Doing this is good because it sets you apart from the herd, but it also risks pigeonholing you as an expert in that area alone. If for some reason your particular area of business expertise slows down – or, like the record industry, evaporates completely – you may find yourself suddenly without a market, regardless of how good you are, or how versatile your skillset actually is.
To stay flexible in an unstable economy, we event planners and suppliers should be more like Sammy Hagar: identify multiple areas of expertise to develop and succeed in, to fall back on in case the unknown happens- which, in today’s fast-paced, volatile world, it inevitably will. Stay with your passion, of course, but keep building your skillset – and reputation – in other areas.
For me, this has meant developing skills not only as a trivia event producer, but as an event planner, corporate team building facilitator, experience creator, emcee and, most recently, a blogger. What are some other areas of expertise you can start learning & defining yourself as, to ensure the future success of your business?
TrivWorks founder David Jacobson blogs daily on a wide range of topics relevant to corporate event entertainment, team building and live trivia. 
